A/N:

Nina: Hello everyone. I'd like for everyone to meet the lovely CaramelCappuccino~ both a wonderful beta and writer! And the best part of this is... we live in the same zip code so we can actually work to together! She occasional stalks me at my house from time to time but I question nothing... She even followed me to NYC. CHINA TOWN! Oh! And don't expect my other stories to be updated until I re-vamped all of them... a delete lost causes... Anyway! Typos should be cut and ideas should flow freely given this union! I hope you enjoy!

Caramel: Buongiorno \'v'/. I am CaramelCappuccino~ and this is The Little Tuna! A collaboration between Nina and myself. We plan and write/type this together at random intervals so each chapter actually has both our writings within. A little tip for the mind- I tend to italicize everything or put them into (parenthesis) for no reason. So if you see that it's most likely me. The tiny story in the beginning is the product of telling bedtime stories for the past 4 years btw- and whaha I'm typing too much ;x;~

Pairings: 5927 || S80 || D18 || Giotto x G. || B26 || X00 (CRACK! TO THE EXTREME!) || 6996

The Little Tuna

.::[ Prologue ]::.

\'v'/\'v'/\'v'/\'v'/\'v'/

"Once upon a time, long before the Kingdom of Vongola, there was a young Prince enjoyed exploring the vast land that would soon be his and in his journeys he found many things.

One day the Prince began searching amidst the watery caves that lined the beaches. He made his greatest "discovery", a mermaid- or rather, a merman. In shock the merman hurt himself. The Prince quickly came to rescue. In a strange turn of events the merman's tailfin disappeared and he appeared perfectly fine.

Mermen are devious and extremely tricky. They are not to be trusted, but the poor Prince had not been warned about the dangers. The fish had convinced the boy that he himself had been the one to fall and hit his head. Baffled, the Prince inspected the merman and found blood crusting on the man's hair. He had been right!

"Please keep this a secret. A secret between just us."

Excitement bubbled within as the Prince agreed to the fish's request. The merman used his charm to trick the Prince into coming to the caves during the morning, as to talk about each other's worlds. They began meeting daily and the heir to the throne began considering he and the strange creature, friends. Best friends.

Days turned to weeks.

Weeks turned to months.

Months turned to years.

Their relationship soon became more than just a simple friendship. The Prince couldn't resist the allure of the cunning man. For a while he thought it was mutual. Caught by the spell, he purchased a gift. The merman was hesitant in receiving it, but the Prince insisted.

"We can't do this anymore."

The merman spoke of how the Prince was too different from him - inferior. He was not important. The argument became heated, the merman twisting words, the Prince heartbroken. In a fit of rage the Prince insulted the merman just as he had done to him.

"How dare you disrespect me!"

As an omen the sea turned and pulled. After all, it is said that the oceans listen to the emotions of the fish people, and at the moment the merman was livid. He made an unspoken promise, a curse against the Prince for his words. They parted ways, angered and hurt.

The merman kept his promise.

To this day on the 26th day of October, a turbulent storm attacks the land and surrounding seas. Ships are tattered into pieces, homes are torn down, and lives are lost. It all serves as a reminder to the humans of that day and the consequences of fraternizing with merfolk."

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"And that's the story," a young teenage girl spoke. She handed a text to a silver haired boy next to her. He pushed up his glasses, which were one-size-too-big for him, and studied the book. It was one of his favorites (along with "The Abominable Snowman" and "The Chupacabra") and he often forced his older sister to relay it to him.

"Are mermaids real? Like the Lock Ness Monster?"

"Hayato, none of them are real," Bianchi patted her brother on the head. "And besides, even if they were real, they can't be trusted. I would hope they aren't real."

He pushed his glasses up once more and pouted. As he began spewing out facts that lead to the reality of the U.M.A.'around the world, his sister left him to sleep. He felt calm at sea, as well as curious. It was the world's biggest mystery. His father on the other hand detested anything that had to do with large bodies of water. It took Gokudera two weeks of begging to even convince him to let his birthday party be out at sea! Person after person had greeted him and wished him a happy birthday. He would nod politely and let out a small " thank you" occasionally. He was a prince after all,it was his job to respect his people. Well, they weren't his people yet but they would be sooner or later!

The party had died down quite a bit after the fireworks display and many of the partygoers had bid him goodnight and retired to their rooms, asking that the prince would send the king their best regards. The king truly adored his only son, however; his hatred of the sea was a force to be reckoned with… He promised to find and bring the eight-year-old Gokudera a cat from one of his mythology books by the time he returned to castle… provided he excuse him from the party at sea.

The boy sighed, kicking off his recently tucked covers and went outside to the deck to watch the ocean. Looking out, he could the see the coast of Vongola, his country, his home. Land connected to beach, which link to the silver-glazed ripples of the water that the ship floated upon. The silver-haired prince loved this about the ocean. It was something that connected and united the world. Gokudera saw it as bridge, not a barrier. The sea supported so much life in it's depths - Great Water Dragons and Giant Octopus! Why did daddy hate the ocean so much? It just didn't make sense. He couldn't help but frown at the idea that his journey on the sea would be ending so soon without even being able to spot one UMA.

If I could just see one …

He moved his eyes across the depths below. He might as well enjoy the scenery before him. The sea looked like an exact replica of the sky, echoing what was above it. The water was calm - save for the disturbances the boat was making - until there were a couple of splashes to the right. Gokudera looked to see the caudal fin of an animal. He dismissed it as a fish until a mop of hair crossed his vision, and eyes. Surprised eyes that were looking straight at him.

Could it be …?

Gokudera wiped his eyes in disbelief, completely forgetting that he had a pair of glasses on his face. As they fell to the waters below, he let out a swift "Dammit!" (thank goodness that Bianchi wasn't around to hear his "potty-mouth", he would be in trouble!). He tried to look back where he saw the splashes, but there was nothing. Was he imagining it?

No…

He had seen a real mermaid!

He had to tell his sister that she was wrong and he was right! The small Prince ran back into the lower decks, the thought of his lost glasses gone and only excitement left.

"Bianchi, Bianchi! Mermaids are real…!" He shouted, running towards his older sister's room with glee only an eight-year-old could muster.

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Meanwhile...

"What do you think you were doing! You could have been seen! God I think that little kid was looking at you…"

"I'm sorry! I just wanted to see that boat and-"

"What do you have in your hands?"

"…That boy dropped this…and…"

"Sigh…Look, just don't let father find it. It's bad enough you convinced me to bring you up here anyways."

"T-thank you, Onii-chan."